Metformin loaded non-ionic surfactant vesicles: optimization of formulation, effect of process variables and characterization

The prepared vesicles were uniform and spherical in size. Optimized formulation MN3 entrapped the drug with 84.50±0.184 efficiency in the vesicles of the size 487.60±2.646 and showed the most sustained release of 73.89±0.126. Also it was resulted that 100 molar concentration of cholesterol and surfactant, Presence of DCP, equimolar ratio of span？60: cholesterol and 15 ml of volume of hydration were found to be optimum for miosome preparation.The present work concluded metformin loaded niosomes to be effective in sustaining the drug release leading to decreased side effects and increased patient compliance.With the advent of therapeutics, oral delivery is the most widely used and the most convenient route of drug delivery. Despite of phenomenal advances in other dosage routes viz. injectable, inhalable, transdermal, nasal, oral delivery still remain well ahead of the pack as the preferred delivery route. Higher concentration is focused in making the oral formulations viable if it is not immediately viable, than in plumping for an alternative delivery method. The top 50 drugs selling in the world have 84% oral delivery [1]. Variety of approaches have been tried to enhance the oral bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs using the excipients with approved or GRAS (generally regarded as safe) status. Micronization by spray-drying, freeze-drying, crystallization and milling; nanosizing into nanoparticles by various techniques with high-pressure homogenization being one of most efficient; crystal engineering of polymorphs, hydrates, solvates, co-crystals, supercritical fluid and sonocrystallization; solid dispersions developed by melt-mixing, solvent evaporation, supercritical fluid and melt extrusion; solubilizing ability of cyclodextrins; solid lipid nanoparticles prepared by high-pressure homogenization and microemulsion technology and other colloidal drug delivery systems including emulsions, microemulsions, self-emulsified and self-microemulsified drug delivery syste